"Dateline" correspondent Keith Morrison, whose unique speaking style has made him a specialist in narrating crime mysteries, on Friday will report on the case of Daniel Villegas, an El Paso man who claims he was wrongly convicted in a double-murder in 1993.

Morrison discussed the controversial case in an email interview this week with the El Paso Times. The “Dateline” episode titled “The Confession” airs at 7 p.m. Friday on Channel 9-KTSM.

Villegas, now 38, was serving a life sentence before he was released from prison last year after a state judge tossed out a confession and a state appeals court overturned a capital murder conviction and ordered a new trial.

Villegas, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, is accused of killing Robert England and Armando "Mando" Lazo in a drive-by shooting in Northeast El Paso on April 10, 1993. John Mimbela, an El Paso building contractor and a family friend of Villegas, has led and financed efforts to prove Villegas' innocence.

Morrison has been to El Paso to conduct interviews on the case.

Question: What was it that attracted "Dateline" to the Daniel Villegas case?

Answer: It was such an unusual, and highly quixotic, quest. We have often reported on the efforts of dedicated lawyers seeking to undo what they see as injustice, but never have we encountered a building contractor — utterly unversed in the law — so committed to such a project, and so effective. We couldn’t help but watch.

Q: What stands out about this particular case?

A: What stands out are dramatic events, of course, but also very powerful and opposing personalities: John Mimbela and DA Jaime Esparza. Both men care a great deal about justice. Both have been committed all along to see that the right thing is done. But who is right?

So we watched, and we watched. And we returned to El Paso again and again to shoot, updating interviews and record the ongoing events, knowing that eventually it would produce a remarkable story.

Q: "Dateline" been working on this story for several years. How unusual is it to work on a story like this for that amount of time?

A: We frequently follow stories for years before we air them. The freedom to do so is one of the joys of working as a correspondent at "Dateline."

Q: Why not wait to run the story until after the pending murder case is resolved in court?

A: We felt we needed to air the story now, reporting on events to this point, because we simply couldn’t be sure when the next trial will occur — or if there will even be another trial. Naturally, we’ll report again as events warrant.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.